Abstract
In most of the world, people have regular exposure to multiple accents. Therefore, learning to quickly process accented speech is a prerequisite to successful communication. In this paper, we examine work on the perception of accented speech across the lifespan, from early infancy to late adulthood. Unfamiliar accents initially impair linguistic processing by infants, children, younger adults, and older adults, but listeners of all ages come to adapt to accented speech. Emergent research also goes beyond these perceptual abilities, by assessing links with production and the relative contributions of linguistic knowledge and general cognitive skills. We conclude by underlining points of convergence across ages, and the gaps left to face in future work.
Highlights
Infants, children, and adults may all experience different challenges in processing unfamiliar accents
CONCLUDING REMARKS This review reveals some points of convergence of research on accent perception across the lifespan
Throughout the lifespan, online measures have provided evidence that an accent can initially impair linguistic processing, but further experience allows for rapid adaptation
Summary
Alejandrina Cristia1*†, Amanda Seidl 2, Charlotte Vaughn, Rachel Schmale, Ann Bradlow 3 and Caroline Floccia. Edited by: Holger Mitterer, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Netherlands. In most of the world, people have regular exposure to multiple accents. Learning to quickly process accented speech is a prerequisite to successful communication. We examine work on the perception of accented speech across the lifespan, from early infancy to late adulthood. Unfamiliar accents initially impair linguistic processing by infants, children, younger adults, and older adults, but listeners of all ages come to adapt to accented speech. Emergent research goes beyond these perceptual abilities, by assessing links with production and the relative contributions of linguistic knowledge and general cognitive skills. We conclude by underlining points of convergence across ages, and the gaps left to face in future work
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